FCC Will Give Free Licenses
If Digital TV Launches in '98

By

Bryan Gruley Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated April 3, 1997 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators finally are preparing to give the nation's broadcasters free licenses to offer digital television now that broadcasters have agreed to launch the service in at least 10 major cities by October 1998.

As soon as Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to complete a nine-year effort to allow broadcasters to offer digital TV, with its promise of crystal-clear pictures and theater-like sound, industry and government officials said. The action likely will accelerate a race...